Tag: Becca Boo

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Biweekly News Roundup 2024-08-18

Personal / Website News

Becca Boo Issue Two Review

New review is up at my website!

I take a look at Becca Boo issue 2. I had previously reviewed issue 1 and enjoyed it (read my review here), and issue 2 definitely kept up the quality. My issue 2 review can be read here.

Note: A while after publication of my review, Obscura Comics sent over the missing Kickstarter swag. I’ll be updating my review to reflect this.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2024.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my paths. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Phantom of the Paradise Edited Collection

Editor: Sean Woodard
Contact: phantomparadisebook@gmail.com
Abstract Deadline: Friday, November 15, 2024
Chapter Drafts Deadline: June 15, 2025

Essays sought for a peer-reviewed edited collection focused on Brian De Palma’s film, Phantom of the Paradise.

Brian De Palma’s 1974 film Phantom of the Paradise, starring William Finley, Paul Williams, and Jessica Harper remains a cult classic of 1970s American independent cinema and popular culture. A throwback to the legend of Faust and Gothic narratives such as Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera (1910), and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), the film satirizes the modern music industry. The musical prominently features a stellar soundtrack by Paul Williams and many of De Palma’s trademark filmmaking techniques and Hitchcockian homages that he would perfect in further genre fare like Carrie (1976), Dressed to Kill (1980), and Blow Out (1981).

Furthermore, Phantom of the Paradise has a devoted fan base around the world. For example, a fan-made preservation website called “The Swan Archives”—devoted to detailing the film’s production history and cataloging and preserving its physical promotional materials and merchandise—was the subject of a 2013 Bright Lights Film Journal essay. In addition, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro owns an extensive collection of Phantom of the Paradise memorabilia, while director Edgar Wright specifically cast Paul Williams in a cameo role in Baby Driver (2017) out of his affinity his role in De Palma’s film. The film’s growing popularity has also led to sold-out repertoire screenings, shadow cast events, and fan cosplay at horror conventions. In an archived 2019 interview with The Globe and Mail, Williams commented on the film’s resurgence and its overall legacy: “Isn’t it bizarre? You can’t be quick to write something off as [a] failure. . . . I am beyond grateful.”

While academic research has been focused broadly on De Palma’s filmography, there has not been a singular scholarly text devoted to the film. The celebration of Phantom of the Paradise’s 50th anniversary in 2024 makes it an appropriate time to celebrate and re-evaluate the film.

The purpose of this edited collection is to place Phantom of the Paradise into a cultural and theoretical context, as well as critically analyze the film, its connections to other genre films, its place in Brian De Palma’s filmography, and its continued influence.

We seek proposals for chapters that approach the subject matter with theoretical concepts that will appropriately meet the rigorous expectations of an academic work, but through a prose style that shall be accessible for both an academic audience and a general readership.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Brian De Palma as an Auteur
  • Paul Williams’ Career
  • Film and Literary Adaptation and Intertextuality (Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Faust, etc.)
  • Narrative, Thematic, or Structural Analysis of the Film
  • Audio/Visual Style
  • The supernatural and the Gothic
  • Body Horror
  • Monstrosity/Abjection
  • Class, Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Readings
  • Psychoanalytic Film Theory
  • Philosophy in Film/Film as Philosophy
  • Voyuerism and “the gaze”
  • Mirrors, Screens, Foils, and Doubles
  • Genre Hybridity
  • Soundtracks and Film Scoring
  • Horror Musical Film Cycles (including Phantom of the Paradise; The Rocky Horror Picture Show [Sharman, 1975]; Shock Treatment [Sharman, 1981]; Little Shop of Horrors [Oz, 1986]; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [Burton, 2007]; Repo! The Genetic Opera [Bousman, 2008]; and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog [Whedon, 2008])
  • Cult Cinema, Fandom, and Popular Culture

Please send abstracts of 300 – 500 words with a working title and five (5) keywords, accompanied by a short third-person author bio (100 words max), to phantomparadisebook@gmail.com as a Word document.

Final essays should be 5,000 – 6,000 words in length, inclusive of endnotes and bibliography. Citations and references shall be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. No images. A formal proposal for the collection will be submitted for consideration to a leading academic press.

Proposed Timeline

  • August 1, 2024 – November 15, 2024: Call for Papers
  • December 15, 2025: Notification of abstract acceptances sent to authors
  • December 15 – June 15, 2025: Book chapters drafting period
  • June 15 – July 31, 2025: Initial editorial review of submitted chapter drafts; editing/revision remarks sent to writers
  • August 1 – September 15, 2025: Contributor revision period
  • September 15 – September 30, 2025: Second editorial review
  • October 1 – October 15, 2025: Contributor revisions, as neede
  • October 15 – December 15, 2025: Finalize full manuscript
  • December 15, 2025: Submit full manuscript to press for editorial board consideration and peer review process

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Elysian Fields Kickstarter

Michael Oden is revamping/rebooting his Neo-peplum comic, Elysian Fields, with a Kickstarter campaign. You can sign up to get notified when the campaign launched at this link.

I had the honor to interview Oden a few years ago about the original incarnation of Elysian Fields, and if you’re curious, it can be read here.

Arcade Autograph

My friend Nolan McBride of the Dead Ringers Podcast was a recent guest on the VH US Podcast to talk about the Albert Pyun film Arcade (check out the episode here).

Back in December 2022 after Pyun had passed away I shared my autographed copy of Cyborg (check it out here). McBride podcast appearance totally made me remember that I had a copy of Arcade signed by the awesome cult director. So, here it is!

Nick,

We shot this in 12 days and I actually got into a fight with Charles Band on the final cut and left the film. But I really liked the Cast and David Goyer’s script.

Best, Albert Pyun

Thanks for all the memories Pyun!

Alien Quadrilogy Autographs

Alien: Romulus is out in the world now. Despite not caring for Prometheus and Covenant, I’ll give Romulus a shot since I’m always curious were the Alien/Predator universe lore takes off into. But for now, since the movie is out, it’s a good enough time as any to share my autographed copy of the Alien Quadrilogy boxset.

This is signed by Veronica Cartwright (Alien) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens). I recall buying this boxset back in 2004 from a Fred Meyer I lived across the street from in University Place, WA. I was so excited to scrimp some monies to buy this set and all the supplemental goodies in it. The set is two decades old, and I’ll probably someday buy some 4K versions of the movies on it, but this will remain one of my prized gems in the library.

In Gowan Ring Concert 2007

Speaking of old, old Washington memories, while categorizing my music and getting everything imported onto my Mac, I came across a copy of Webs Among the Din 2 by folk project In Gowan Ring.

Michele and I actually got to be concert organizers and promoters and have In Gowan Ring (Patreon link) perform a tiny concert at the University Bookstore at the University of Washington – Tacoma Campus. It was a lot of fun! Michele did up posters, and I did the green room and made my custom onion cheese tart. Michele also made a recording of the event, so perhaps we will find it while we continue to unpack, and see if something can be done with it.

After In Gowan Ring concluded their tour they did a commemorative release called Webs Among the Din 2, which features a map and a listing of all their performances.

So, 17 years ago this month we got to host a folk band at our school. Very cool!

The Neverending Streamer – More Fallout Write Ups

Travis Lakata has some new Fallout episode write ups on his Substack, The Neverending Streamer.

Check them out:

Florida, Man Indiegogo

My friend Evan Jordan (one of the editors of Footage Fiends, the zine I got to contribute an essay about Caltiki to last year) is doing a crowdfunding endeavor for his feature-length movie debut, Florida, Man.

Per the Indiegogo campaign:

Florida, Man aims to explore the [..]paranormal encounters I had in addition to the rest of my weird past in the state of Florida through archival footage, re-enactments, interviews with surviving family members and other involved parties, as well as ending with a full paranormal investigation of the rural home where everything occurred all those years ago.

Check out the campaign at Indiegogo.

Categories
Essays

Just Here for the Boo!s: Becca Boo Issue Two

Becca Boo, the ditzy bombshell who awoke one morning in a grave and deduced that she was a ghost, finds herself as an actual ghost when she is hit by a truck. Though Death comes for Becca, he becomes distracted at the prospect of hooking up with a talented lady, and takes off. Becca looks through Death’s book and reads that she is bound for Hell, and uses the opportunity to flee. 

Over the next few months Becca finds herself haunting mirrors, where adolescent men summon her by repeating her name. However, urban legend icon Bloody Mary takes umbrage at Becca infringing on her turf. Bloody Mary’s anger is short lived as Becca Boo is able to charm and bed her. As the two undead ladies become acquainted with each other, a knock as the door announces someone sinister has arrived for Becca. 

The ending of issue one put Becca Boo in a narrative crossroad. The story of Becca Boo could have continued with the idea of Becca not actually being dead, but maintaining her insistence that she is a ghost, and interacting with the world accordingly. The second option is to have Becca become a ghost and influencing the living world in comedic ways, going the route of movies such as Beetlejuice (1988), Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), and Frighteners (1996). The former would have been much more challenging to write but it would have kept the comic exploring an iteration of ghost-comedy that is not often done. The latter is the safer and easier option, so it is understandable that the writers of Becca Boo decided to go the route of making Becca a ghost. 

Issue two of Becca Boo maintains the comedic tone of issue one with some fun delighters. Becca Boo dips into parody territory by having a Ringu-esque Bloody Mary, covered in blood and tattered clothing, becoming an erotic apparition. Becco purrs to Mary “You know what happens when you change a few ingredients in a Bloody Mary? You get a cosmopolitan.” She is technically not wrong, (take out everything but the vodka and replace with cranberry juice, Cointreau, and lime juice), she just has a different grasp on what “few” means. But in a strange, Becca Boo sort of way, there is some insight to be had in her proverb. 

The cast of characters in the second issue is broadened with the introduction of Bloody Mary and Death, providing Becca more opportunities to interact with others, be them living, dead, or undead, providing more venues for comedic dialogue and situations.

The art maintains the same consistency as with issue one, with all the characters looking fleshed out and detailed. The majority of issue two takes place indoors, but attention has been paid to make sure the rooms, walls, et al. look interesting and not generic. Where a time-pressed artist would simply have an empty wall to save time, Bloody Mary’s flat is adorned with weird-circular art pieces (gold records?) and plants. Unlike issue one, issue two of Becca Boo only contains one scene of sexual intercourse, but it is stretched longer over more panels, adding an underscored element of intimacy between Becca and Bloody Mary.

As with issue one, issue two of Becca Boo was a crowdfunded endeavor. The campaign met almost all the stretch goals of cards, magnets, etc., but the publisher, Obscura, failed to include the bonus items with my pledge, so I unfortunately cannot comment on them as I typically do with these indie comic reviews. Fun comic, but terrible fulfillment, which is waved away under the risks of pledging to a Kickstarter, and that these items are simply “extras.”

Disappointing fulfillment aside, the product proper of Becca Boo is what matters. Becca Boo continues to be fun and sexually playful. Despite Death’s notes indicating she has lived a “vapid..drunk..driven by libido” life, Becca’s heart is in the right place, giving readers a worthwhile character to latch onto and worry about what will happen to her as she negotiates the afterlife looking for redemption. 

More information on Becca Boo can be found at the following websites:

Categories
News

Biweekly News Roundup 2023-12-03

Personal / Website News

New Publication: The Journal of Stoogeological Studies Vol 1

The debut issue of The Journal of Stoogeological Studies is out now!

I received a draft PDF of the first issue and its 88 pages of essays, reviews, and other musings all about the Three Stooges (and, as of 12/27, there’s supposed to be a bit more content added this week, so it’s getting even bigger!). I’m honored to have a short piece in this journal called “An Imperial Decree? Soitenly! Matri-Phony as Proto-Toga and Sandal Comedy.” I am no expert on The Three Stooges or a super fan or anything, but I love writing about sword n’ sandal stuff so this was a unique venue to talk about the genre in an eccentric way.

For information on procuring a copy of the zine contact editor Will Sloan (website is https://www.willsloan.ca).

UPDATE: Amazon product page here.

Becca Boo #1 Review

New review up at my website! I take a gander at the first issue of the sex-comedy comic book Becca Boo the Bimbo Ghost.

The review can be read here. I enjoyed the comic and chipped in the for Kickstarter for issue 2, so expect a review of that when it is published. The issue 2 Kickstarter can be found here.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast

Brand new episode of H.P. Lovecast Podcast is now online!

Episode 59 Thumbnail by Michele Brittany.

Michele and I finally conclude our annual Mimic series discussion by talking about Mimic 3: Sentinel. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website, via the embedded player below, or via your podcast app of preference.

Ep 59 – J. T. Petty's Mimic 3: Sentinel – H. P. Lovecast Podcast

McFarland Christmas Sale

My publisher, McFarland, is doing a holiday sale on ALL their titles. Use code “HOLIDAY23” at checkout to receive 25% off your order. The sale appears to go on for the entire month of December, but McFarland suggests placing orders before the 16th in order to receive them in time for Yuletide.

This is a perfect opportunity to scoop up books I’ve participated in. For editing:

And for contributing:

If you pluck up a book, thank you for your support!

Emmanuelle Legacy CFP Re-opened + Bibliography

Since garnering publisher interest, I’ve re-opened the CFP for the Emmanuelle legacy book. The updated CFP can be found here.

Monique Gabrielle as Emmanuelle in Emmanuelle 5.

I’ve also started annotating Emmanuelle scholarship and posting it here at my website so other scholars have a nice bibliographic resource. The bibliography and annotations can be found here and it’s a major WIP.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2023.

Published in February, this collection contains my essay “Dance or Dēcēdere: Gladiator and Industrial Music Sampling.”

Vernon Press Product Page

Published in May, this issue of Weird Tales contains my essay “When the Stars are Right.”

Weird Tales Product Page

Published in late March, the first issue of the zine Footage Fiends, contains my essay “Analisi Della Cosa: Found Footage in Caltiki and Italian Theater Going Practices.”

Limited to 50 physical copies.

Order via Patreon.

Published in early August, Dark Dead Things #2 contains my essay “Correlating the Contents: Mimetic Desire in H. P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Call of Cthulhu’.”

Order via Dark Dead Thingswebsite.

Published late November/early December of 2023, my essay “An Imperial Decree? Soitenly! Matri-Phony as Proto-Toga and Sandal Comedy” appears in the debut issue of The Journal of Stoogeological Studies.

Amazon product page.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

“Azathoth” song on Bandcamp

John 3:16, the composer of the HP Lovecast podcast theme song, “Azathoth,” has released the track on Bandcamp!

Here is the link to check it out, stream it, or purchase it via name your own price. Sincere thank you to John 3:16 for being a super supporter of our podcast, sharing our content, and of course, creating this awesome tune.

CFP: The Mummy Edited Collection

Michele is teaming up with Sean Woodard to do an edited collection on The Mummy series. They have a CFP listed at UPENN, but I am also sharing a copy below.

Editors: Michele Brittany and Sean Woodard

Contact email: mummybookproject@gmail.com

Abstract Deadline: December 15, 2023

Chapter Drafts Deadline: June 15, 2024

Essays sought for an edited collection focused on Universal Pictures’ The Mummy franchise.

The 1999 Universal reboot of The Mummy, starring the indelible duo of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, remains a tentpole of ’90s popular culture and cinema. Not only did The Mummy launch two sequels, a spin-off series, and a reboot, but it has lived on as a cult film, loved by fans for its mixture of horror, action/adventure, and humor. The film has also developed a strong meme culture on social media — one of the most viral examples contains a photo of a car bumper sticker proclaiming: “Honk if you’d rather be watching the 1999 cinematic masterpiece ‘The Mummy’ starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.”

While academic research has been focused on various releases of The Mummy (1932, 1959, 1999, and 2017), there has not been a singular scholarly text devoted to the film franchise. The recent “Brenaissance” in Fraser’s film career and the film’s anticipated 25th anniversary in 2024 make it an appropriate time to celebrate and re-evaluate the film.

The purpose of this edited collection is to place The Mummy into a cultural and theoretical context, as well as critically analyze the franchise, its connections to other genre films, and its continued influence.

We seek proposals for chapters that approach the subject matter with theoretical concepts that will appropriately meet the rigorous expectations of an academic work, but through a prose style that shall be accessible for both an academic audience and a general readership.  

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Resurgent interest in Brendan Fraser/“Brenaissance”
  • Stephen Sommers as an auteur
  • Representation of Egypt in popular culture and early filmic representation
  • Eastern mythology/culture/religion
  • Exoticism of non-western cultures
  • Post/De-colonialism 
  • Heroic representation
  • Body horror
  • Eco-horror/Ecocriticism
  • Gender representation
  • Toxic depictions in film
  • Queer/LGBTQ+ representation
  • Meme/GIF culture
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Generational nostalgia 
  • Element of music/film scoring
  • Genre hybridity
  • Film cycles/reboots/retcons (such as The Scorpion King, The Mummy animated series, Universal Classic Monsters, Hammer Studios, Dark Universe, etc.) and related adventure/archaeological-driven films (such as Ark of the Sun God, The Sphinx, The Librarian franchise, etc.)

Please send abstracts of 300 – 500 words with a working title and five (5) keywords, accompanied by a short third-person author bio (100 words max), to mummybookproject@gmail.com as a Word document. Final essays should be 6,000 – 8,000 words in length, including endnotes and bibliography, and be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. The collection is being considered by a leading academic press.

Proposed Timeline

  • October 1, 2023 thru December 15, 2023 — Call for Papers
  • January 15, 2024 — Notification of abstract acceptances sent to authors  
  • January 15, 2024 thru June 15, 2024 — Book chapters drafting period
  • June 15, 2024 thru July 15, 2024 — Initial editorial review of submitted chapter drafts
  • August 1, 2024 thru October 1, 2024 — Double-blind Peer Review Period
  • October 1, 2024 thru November 15, 2024 — Contributor revision period
  • December 1, 2024 — Final editorial acceptance decisions
  • December 1, 2024 thru January 15, 2025 — Layout design, indexing, and proofing stage
  • January 15, 2025 thru February 15, 2025 — Copies of chapter proofs sent to contributors for copyediting review
  • March 1, 2025 — Final manuscript submitted in hard copy and digital formats to publisher

Editor bios:

Michele Brittany is a writer, editor, podcaster, and artist. She edited James Bond and Popular Culture and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre. She co-edited Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays and co-hosts H. P. Lovecast podcast with Nicholas Diak. She lives in Glendale, Arizona.

Sean Woodard (MA | MFA) is a PhD candidate in English at University of Texas at Arlington. He also serves as the Assistant Editor for Global Insight: A Journal of Critical Human Science and Cultureand the Film Editor for Drunk Monkeys. He has contributed chapters to the edited collections Journeys Into Terror: Essays from the Cinematic Intersection of Travel and Horror and Bloodstained Narratives: The Giallo Film in Italy and Abroad. His research interests include horror cinema, the American West, psychoanalysis, fairy tales, and film scoring.